February 2013 - Water Market Insights 38

Monitoring and Controlling Boiler Water/Steam Cycle Chemistry is Hot Topic Hour on Thursday, February 21, 2013

Safe, reliable and efficient operation of steam generating boilers and HRSGs requires the maintenance of physical and chemical conditions throughout the water/steam circuit that minimizes corrosion and deposit formation. This is especially true in the older plants that are predominate in our electricity production network. Deposition of contaminants, scaling and corrosion are the cause of many forced outages resulting in lost power generation or product output costing billions of dollars per year. Frequent blow-downs required because of excessive contaminants in the water/steam also contribute to lost production. Inadequate cycle chemistry will cause boiler tube and turbine blade/disc failures and Flow-Accelerated Corrosion (FAC) throughout the circuit.

The method chosen to control the water/steam chemistry depends on the boiler or HRSG type, water/steam circuit design, materials of construction, physical parameters (temperatures, pressures, heat fluxes, etc.) and the operating cycle of the plant. In all cases, it is essential to be able to measure the key parameters of the water/steam so that operators are able to properly manage and adjust the control method (typically chemical addition) to ensure that physical and chemical targets for the water are achieved.

The following speakers will discuss how to monitor and manage boiler water/steam physical and chemical properties in order to reduce unplanned outages, reduce operation and maintenance costs and improve unit economics. The speakers will describe the instruments and technology available for monitoring water/steam properties and chemistry with a discussion of capital and operating costs and their experience with the instruments or technologies. They may also describe the various control chemicals and technologies available with a discussion of which particular chemicals or technology is appropriate for specific boiler/HRSG types and water/steam circuits.

Joe Zimmerman, Director of Marketing and Power Industry Sales Manager at Chemtrac Systems, Inc., will present “Continuous Real-Time Corrosion Product Transport Monitoring using Particle Counter Instrumentation.” The adverse effects of “particulate” material in steam cycle waters are frequently seen throughout the power generation process. Steam cycle corrosion products (transient metal oxides) can lead to deposition and equipment failure. This presentation introduces basic technologies used for continuous detection of insoluble particles at very low concentrations. When such monitoring methods are utilized, real-time corrosion product transport measurement can be implemented as a potential parameter for controlling the power plant cycle.

Greg Thomas, Key Account Manager for Nuclear Power at Hach Ultra Analytics, will present a comparison of the long time standard amperometric technology to the new optical technology for measurement of low level dO₂ in steam cycle water. The presentation will briefly discuss amperometric and optical technology for the measurement of low level dissolved oxygen. Performance comparison data of the two technologies in steam cycle applications will be presented. Finally, comparisons along with advantages and disadvantages will be discussed.

David M. Gray, Senior Product Manager at Mettler-Toledo Thornton, Inc., will present “New Technology for Monitoring Cycle Chemistry.” He covers online analytical measurements of conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, sodium and silica. Intelligent Sensor Management incorporates digital sensors with improved performance, wider rangeability and predictive diagnostics. He will discuss how these capabilities can improve cycle chemistry monitoring while reducing maintenance.

To register for the February 21, 2013 “Hot Topic Hour” at 10:00 a.m. Central time, click on:

On Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Central time, McIlvaine hosts a 90 minute web meeting on important energy and pollution control subjects. Power webinars are free for subscribers to either Power Plant Air Quality Decisions or Utility Environmental Upgrade Tracking System. The cost is $125.00 for non-subscribers. Market Intelligence webinars are free to McIlvaine market report subscribers and are $400.00 for non-subscribers.

DATE	Non-Subscribers Cost	SUBJECT	Webinar Type
February 21, 2013	$125.00	Monitoring and Controlling Boiler Water/Steam Cycle Chemistry	Power
February 28, 2013	$125.00	Implementation of the Utility MACT Rule	Power
March 7, 2013	$125.00	HRSG Design, Operation and Maintenance Considerations	Power
March 14, 2013	$125.00	Inlet Air Pretreatment for Gas Turbines	Power
March 21, 2013	$125.00	Industrial Boiler MACT Impact and Control Options	Power
March 28, 2013	$125.00	Mercury Measurement and Control	Power
April 4, 2013	$125.00	Fabric Selection for Particulate Control	Power
April 11, 2013	$125.00	Air Pollution Control for Gas Turbines	Power
April 18, 2013	$125.00	Multi-pollutant Control Technology	Power
April 25, 2013	$125.00	Control Technologies for Fine Particulate Matter	Power
May 2, 2013	$125.00	Flyash Pond and Wastewater Treatment Issues	Power
May 9, 2013	$125.00	Clean Coal Technologies	Power
May 16, 2013	$125.00	Power Plant Automation and Control	Power
May 23, 2013	$125.00	Cooling Towers	Power
May 30, 2013	$400.00	Air Pollution Control Markets (geographic trends, regulatory developments, competition, technology developments)	Market Intelligence
June 6, 2013	$125.00	Report from Power-Gen Europe (update on regulations, speaker and exhibitor highlights)	Power
June 13, 2013	$125.00	Monitoring and Optimizing Fuel Feed, Metering and Combustion in Boilers	Power
June 20, 2013	$125.00	Dry Sorbent Injection and Material Handling for APC	Power
June 27, 2013	$400.00	Power Generation Forecast for Nuclear, Fossil and Renewables	Market Intelligence
July 11, 2013	$125.00	New Developments in Power Plant Air Pollution Control	Power
July 18, 2013	$125.00	Measurement and Control of HCl	Power
July 25, 2013	$125.00	GHG Compliance Strategies, Reduction Technologies and Measurement	Power
August 1, 2013	$125.00	Update on Coal Ash and CCP Issues and Standards	Power
August 8, 2013	$125.00	Improving Power Plant Efficiency and Power Generation	Power
August 15, 2013	$125.00	Control and Treatment Technology for FGD Wastewater	Power
August 22, 2013	$125.00	Status of Carbon Capture and Storage Programs and Technology	Power
August 29, 2013	$125.00	Pumps for Power Plant Cooling Water and Water Treatment Applications	Power

The need to meet new environmental standards, the growing demand for water and the need to replace obsolete infrastructure are causing U.S. water utilities to embark on thousands of capital improvement projects. These projects are tracked in the McIlvaine North American Public Water Plants and People. (www.mcilvainecompany.com)

Growing demand is why Bay City, Michigan is planning a $60 million regional treatment plant. Arkansas City, Kansas is planning a new $12 million plant. Annapolis, Maryland is building a $35 million plant.

Some of the expenditures are to meet new regulations. Clay Center, Kansas, which has about 4,300 residents, built a $10 million water treatment plant to clear the water of uranium that can occur naturally in underground aquifers.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) said of the five communities with excessive uranium in their drinking water, only two — Timken, population 75 and a Garden City subdivision with about 860 residents — have not taken any action to comply with the federal regulations. KDHE said enforcement action is under consideration for those two communities.

Among the many upgrades, controls have some of the fastest payback. Many utilities are looking at adding:

Three (3) classifications of SCADA systems are available: Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) System, Semi-Customer Large Scale (SCLS) System, and Distributed Control System (DCS).

East Palestine, Ohio is purchasing a System Communication and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system to monitor the water plant's distribution equipment, including the two lift stations. The system will allow the department to respond more quickly in the event of a water leak or equipment malfunction.

Now, only water levels in one of the plant's two storage tanks are monitored through a land-line telephone system. The current system is costing the village $400 to $450 a month in utility bills for that tank. The SCADA system would be completely web-based and cost roughly $200 a month in utility bills. The system will be cellular-based with seven cellular sites and three radio sites. It will cost about $61,000 and will monitor water levels and the overall operation of all water towers, each booster pump and the lift stations, and the information can be accessed online or through a Smartphone. Currently, there is no way to monitor the stations except physically.

Suppliers are now offering improved systems with even faster ROI. Yokogawa Electric released CENTUM VP integrated production control system. Enhancements include a Field Control Station (FCS), with four times the processing performance, twice the application storage capacity and five times the control network throughput of the previous control station.

Calgon Carbon Awarded $12.4 Million Contract for UV Disinfection System for L.A. Water & Power

Aqua America’s Texas and Illinois Subsidiaries Acquire Water and Wastewater Systems

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